Shannon Turley has released a statement following the tragic death of her ex-husband, Chris “Big Black” Boykin, 45. Hours after news of Big Black’s sudden death hit the internet, Turley logged in to his Twitter account and posted the following message.

This is Shannon, Big Black's ex-wife, I'm heartbroken to tell you of Black's passing. He's everything to me and Isis and we will miss him 💔😢

On Wednesday, Turley spoke with TMZ about Big Black and revealed that he had been suffering from serious health problems lately. She told the site that Boykin had been hospitalized in Texas for “several days” because he had been “struggling with heart issues.” The site reports that Boykin had a defibrillator implanted in his chest and may have needed a heart transplant in the future.

Turley also told TMZ that doctors “tried to resuscitate Chris for 30 minutes” after he had a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at 4 p.m. on May 9.

Turley and Boykin got married in 2008 but divorced the following year. The two were still very close friends and had been spending a great deal of time together. The couple has one daughter together, Isis, 9. TMZ reports that Boykin had been living with Turley in recent months because of his “declining health.”

Boykin was best known for his role on MTV’s Rob & Big starring Rob Dyrdek.

“My heart is broken. I don’t want write this post. I don’t want to believe that this is reality. I am so thankful for you. We truly were brothers that lived an unexpected unforgettable adventure. I just can’t fathom that it would end so suddenly. You will forever be in my heart,” Dyrdek posted on Twitter shortly after hearing about the death of his dear friend.

“MTV is deeply saddened to learn the news of Christopher ‘Big Black’ Boykin’s passing. He was a longtime and beloved member of the MTV family and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this time.”